Blizzard will host the BlizzCon convention on November 8 and 9 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., the company announced.

The mostly annual event will be back for the seventh time this year after skipping a 2012 show.

BlizzCon is a gathering of online gaming communities from Blizzard games including World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3. It also serves as a way for Blizzard to reach their fans directly.

[adsense250itp]This year, BlizzCon will offer attendees hands-on play time with the latest versions of Blizzard games and in-depth discussion panels with Blizzard developers and artists. Fans will also be able to purchase exclusive commemorative merchandise based on Blizzard’s game universes.

Blizzard will also host the top gamers from around the world at BlizzCon for the global finals for Blizzard eSports. In addition, players can enter competitive and casual tournaments to show off their skills. Throughout the two-day convention, community contests will be held with the opportunity to win great prizes.

More activities and attractions to be seen at BlizzCon are expected to be announced in the months leading up to the show.

Blizzard announced the World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria, during the 2011 convention. A live performance by the Foo Fighters closed down the show.

When BlizzCon started in 2005, 8,000 gamers attended. The most recent event attracted more than 26,000 attendees. Tickets to the event sold out within seconds of going on sale.

Tickets for BlizzCon 2013 are not on sale yet and no date for their release has been announced. The official BlizzCon site does have hotel listings with special pricing for out-of-towners who plan on attending the convention.

Ryan Bloom

Ryan Bloom is a writer and avid gamer from Orange County. He received a B.A. in Communications with a minor in American Studies from California State University, Fullerton in 2010. Follow him on Twitter @BloomsTweets.